The Ring magazine was established in 1922 and has named a Fighter of the Year since 1928, which this list covers. The award, selected by the magazine editors, is based on a boxer's performance in the ring.
Award winners
Numbers in brackets indicate the number of times a boxer has won the award by that year.
1920s
- 1922: Harry Greb
- 1923: Jack Dempsey
- 1924: Harry Greb (2)
- 1925: Paul Berlenbach
- 1926: Gene Tunney
- 1927: Mickey Walker
- 1928: Gene Tunney (2)
- 1929: Tommy Loughran
1930s
- 1930: Max Schmeling
- 1931: Tommy Loughran (2)
- 1932: Jack Sharkey
- 1933: no award given
- 1934: Tony Canzoneri and Barney Ross
- 1935: Barney Ross (2)
- 1936: Joe Louis
- 1937: Henry Armstrong
- 1938: Joe Louis (2)
- 1939: Joe Louis (3)
1940s
- 1940: Billy Conn
- 1941: Joe Louis (4)
- 1942: Sugar Ray Robinson
- 1943: Fred Apostoli
- 1944: Beau Jack
- 1945: Willie Pep
- 1946: Tony Zale
- 1947: Gus Lesnevich
- 1948: Ike Williams
- 1949: Ezzard Charles
1950s
- 1950: Ezzard Charles (2)
- 1951: Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
- 1952: Rocky Marciano
- 1953: Bobo Olson
- 1954: Rocky Marciano (2)
- 1955: Rocky Marciano (3)
- 1956: Floyd Patterson
- 1957: Carmen Basilio
- 1958: Ingemar Johansson
- 1959: Ingemar Johansson (2)
1960s
- 1960: Floyd Patterson (2)
- 1961: Joe Brown
- 1962: Dick Tiger
- 1963: Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali)
- 1964: Emile Griffith
- 1965: Dick Tiger (2)
- 1966: Muhammad Ali (2) (originally not awarded; retroactively awarded in 2016)
- 1967: Joe Frazier
- 1968: Nino Benvenuti
- 1969: José Nápoles
1970s
- 1970: Joe Frazier (2)
- 1971: Joe Frazier (3)
- 1972: Muhammad Ali (3) and Carlos Monzón
- 1973: George Foreman
- 1974: Muhammad Ali (4)
- 1975: Muhammad Ali (5)
- 1976: George Foreman (2)
- 1977: Carlos Zarate
- 1978: Muhammad Ali (6)
- 1979: Sugar Ray Leonard
1980s
- 1980: Thomas Hearns
- 1981: Sugar Ray Leonard (2) and Salvador Sánchez
- 1982: Larry Holmes
- 1983: Marvin Hagler
- 1984: Thomas Hearns (2)
- 1985: Marvin Hagler (2) and Donald Curry
- 1986: Mike Tyson
- 1987: Evander Holyfield
- 1988: Mike Tyson (2)
- 1989: Pernell Whitaker
1990s
- 1990: Julio César Chávez
- 1991: James Toney
- 1992: Riddick Bowe
- 1993: Michael Carbajal
- 1994: Roy Jones Jr.
- 1995: Oscar De La Hoya
- 1996: Evander Holyfield (2)
- 1997: Evander Holyfield (3)
- 1998: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
- 1999: Paulie Ayala
2000s
- 2000: Félix Trinidad
- 2001: Bernard Hopkins
- 2002: Vernon Forrest
- 2003: James Toney (2)
- 2004: Glen Johnson
- 2005: Ricky Hatton
- 2006: Manny Pacquiao
- 2007: Floyd Mayweather Jr. (2)
- 2008: Manny Pacquiao (2)
- 2009: Manny Pacquiao (3)
2010s
- 2010: Sergio Martínez
- 2011: Andre Ward
- 2012: Juan Manuel Márquez
- 2013: Adonis Stevenson
- 2014: Sergey Kovalev
- 2015: Tyson Fury
- 2016: Carl Frampton
- 2017: Vasiliy Lomachenko
- 2018: Oleksandr Usyk
- 2019: Canelo Álvarez
2020s
- 2020: Tyson Fury (2) and Teófimo López
- 2021: Canelo Álvarez (2)
- 2022: Dmitry Bivol
- 2023: Naoya Inoue
Fighter of the Decade
- 1910s: Sam Langford
- 1920s: Benny Leonard
- 1930s: Henry Armstrong
- 1940s: Sugar Ray Robinson
- 1950s: Sugar Ray Robinson (2)
- 1960s: Muhammad Ali
- 1970s: Roberto Durán
- 1980s: Sugar Ray Leonard
- 1990s: Roy Jones Jr.
- 2000s: Manny Pacquiao
- 2010s: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
See also
- Sugar Ray Robinson Award, a similar award by the Boxing Writers Association of America
- Best Boxer ESPY Award and its successor, the Best Fighter ESPY Award
References
- "Past Winners of The Ring Year-End Awards". The Ring. Retrieved February 1, 2020.
- Daniel, Dan (March 1967). "No Fighter of the Year: Clay's Fine 1966 Record Discounted by Refusal to Accept Army Draft". THE RING. pp. 6, 58.